We Digital Bears
by Protow
Summary: Playing a game is one thing, but being able to be inside a game is another. When virtual reality consoles and video games came out tons of people were excited. Grizz was no exception, but little did he know that he would be stuck inside of one.
1. The Beginning

To say that this wasn't the most exciting day in Grizz's life would be an understatement. He planned for this day for weeks on end. Predicting multiple outcomes and making drastic decisions. In the end, he had the perfect plan. Though it was all washed down the drain when he realized he woke up late after his 'short' nap. With the wind blowing through his brown fur, the grizzly bear ran out the door of his cave, jumping over empty pizza boxes and ramen noodle bowls. As he continued to run he narrowly dodged pedestrians in his way. Once or twice he would get an insult thrown at him. Though he couldn't focus on them at the moment and yelled his apologies.

Within a few minutes he arrived at his destination. In front of him was a store with a neon logo that read, "GG's Gaming Store". A huge crowd came out of the store. He pushed open the door and was greeted by the refreshing cool air of the store. While he took a minute to catch his breath he took a moment to look around at all the games and gaming gear. While Grizz typically loved the role playing genre, he would sometimes enter the realm of other games. He has been recently growing attached to the new virtual reality console.

Once Grizz caught his breath a door opened on the other side of the store. Out of the door came an employee who wore a black shirt and pants. On her shirt was a button with two g's side by long hair blocked her view, but she soon fixed it. Once she moved her hair out of the way she noticed the grizzly bear in the store. "Yo Grizz! I haven't seen you in forever!" she nearly yelled as she run to hug him.

"Nice to see you too Gina." Grizz said as he returned the hug. The two continued to hug for a for what seemed like an hour before someone said anything. "Soooo…. you can let go now." he said. He tried to push her away, but was stuck her her embrace

"No no no. You're not going anywhere. You're Gina's teddy bear now." Gina said with a smirk.

"Come on Gina. You can let go now."

"But you're so wwwaaaarrrrmmmmm!"

"Gina."

"Okay then." Gina pouted as she let go of her hugging buddy. "So what brings you here. I thought for sure after my brother suggested that game to you you'd be holed up in your cave for years." said Gina as she returned to the counter.

"Gina, I'm going to be quick here. I saw a huge crowd of people leaving the store. Do you have any more copies of that new mmo." Grizz said. As he waited for a response he silently pleaded that he wasn't too late.

Gina thought about what Grizz was saying, but then looked disheartened. "Oooh sorry bro. Just sold the last copy a few minutes ago. You should have seen it man. It was hectic in here. We had a whole display of the game and it was gone in less than a minute." Gina pointed at a broken stand just a few feet away from Grizz.

"Oh man." Grizz said as he picked up a piece of the display. 'Warriors of the Towers' was written in a white on the bent blue board.

"My brother spent the better parts of last night finishing that thing. Only to see it be torn to shreds this morning. I think he's still in the storage room crying." said Gina.

Grizz got up and began to head out. "Well, it was nice seeing you Gina. I guess I'll just wait for the new shipment." he said in disappointment.

"Hold on Grizz. I said we just sold the rest of last copy I didn't say _**I**_ didn't have a copy." Gina said with a smirk as she showed her own copy of Warrior of the Towers. "Though I'm not going to let you borrow it so easily." Grizz didn't hear the last part Gina said for he was too excited about the game.

"Oh my gosh I love you!" Grizz said as he placed his paws over Gina's hands.

"W..what?!" Gina said in shock. Grizz grabbed the game out of her hand and began to run out the the door.

"I'll make it up to you somehow. See you around Gina!" Grizz yelled before he left the store.

"Y..yeah….. see you around." a blushing Gina said. The door to the storage area opened another employee came out with teary eyes. He turned towards his sister who was staring at the door.

"Gina, what are you looking at." he asked. Soon Gina snapped out of her trance.

"Nothing Greg….. nothing." Gina answered as she and her brother continued their work day.


	2. Enter the Fray

Grizz rushed home after borrowing the game from Gina. Once inside he quickly navigated his way through piles of takeout, candy wrappers, and clothes that he rarely wears. He knew he would have to clean this up, but for now the only thing he was worried about was the new game in his paws.

Rushing towards his console, Grizz opened the tray and saw the game he previously had in. 'Light Spirits' was written on it with the picture of two crossed sword behind it. Grizz replaced it with Warriors of the Towers and closed the tray. The console hummed to life as Grizz turned it on. Grizz placed on his virtual reality visor. With a click of a button the visors came to life and displayed a blue background with the company name, Ruined Studios. Under the name were the login options. Grizz selected his profile and logged in to the Ruined Network. In an instant Grizz's view of the world washed away. The decor of this home gave way to the Ruined Network's basic background.

The way was now a light blue, as well as the floor. Moving lines of data streamed down from the ceiling like rain. Grizz looked around for a bit and wondered. 'Maybe I should use one of those backgrounds one of these days. It's getting kind of boring looking at the same background.' Grizz thought.

His thoughts were interrupted by a small floating robot came towards him. The robot was spherical and had a glowing blue circle on it. "Welcome back Grizztastic." it said in a male voice.

"Oh hi P.A.R.R, I was wondering where you were." said Grizz,"How you've been doing?"

"I've been doing good sir. Though I wish you would at least cut back on your game binges. I'm beginning to feel a little drained." Grizz chuckled slightly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry about that. I promise I won't pull another all nighter for after tonight. Could you open the new game I just put in, please." Grizz said. P.A.R.R's blue circle turned off and the room turned a black. Grizz was left in complete darkness as he waited for the game to open. After a couple of minutes of waiting, P.A.R.R's blue light returned.

"Opening Warriors of the Towers. Please stand by." he said. Just then a powerful wind blew towards Grizz, causing Grizz to close his eyes. Then with a flash of white light, the darkness was burned away, revealing the new world. "Welcome to Warriors of the Towers." P.A.R.R said.

Grizz could feel the grass under his paws. The wind calmed down as Grizz opened his eyes. His words seemed to be stuck in his throat as he gazed upon the world that he had just entered. He was standing on a cliff gazing upon a massive plain. Large mammoth like creature walked amongst smaller creatures. Looking overhead Grizz also saw many exotic birds flying overhead. A dragon even flew above him for a few seconds before flying towards the horizon. Grizz was knocked out of his trance by P.A.R.R displaying a screen.

On the screen were basic armor, and a range of weapons. "Please select your starting equipment." P.A.R.R said. Grizz scrolled through the selection of equipment. In the end he equipped a set black leather armor with a white undershirt. His weapon of choice was a broadsword and a shield. Next, P.A.R.R displayed a name registration box. Grizz grimaced as he looked at the box that made him stay up countless hours trying to make the perfect name, only to find out that it was already taken.

"I'd like to use my Ruined Network account please." said Grizz. P.A.R.R typed in 'Grizztastic' into the text box, along with other information and entered it in. A spinning circle appeared on the screen as the game tried to confirm the information. Grizz soon let out of cheer of happiness as his name was accepted. Now with his information in Grizz was free to start his journey. P.A.R.R said his goodbyes before exiting the game and left Grizz to his new game.

"Hmmm. I wonder what I should do now?" Grizz asked himself. Grizz lifted his right paw and moving it to the side in a slashing movement. A row of white buttons appeared shortly afterwards. While looking through the buttons, Grizz found one labeled 'map'. With the press of the button a map materialized in front of Grizz. The map was most blank, except for the area in which Grizz was currently at. "Zoom in." Grizz said. On Grizz's command the map zoomed in on his position. With the help of the map Grizz was able to see that there was a village just south of him. "Well, I know where I'm going." Grizz said.

Grizz began to walk towards the village through an enormous forest. The trees were so densely packed that their leaves blocked most of the sunlight that came into the forest. Once or twice Grizz could have sworn that he saw a pair of red glowing eyes staring at him from the far ends of the woods or in a bush somewhere. Though soon enough Grizz shook off the feeling and continued on, but just to be on the safe side he kept his sword drawn.

After a few minutes of wondering in the forest, and checking his map every now and again, Grizz was approaching the end of the forest. As he got closer Grizz began to hear screaming coming from behind him. He turned around only to be tackled to the ground by a blur of black and white. With a grunt Grizz looked to see his tackler. Next to him was a panda bear. He wore a white trenchcoat with a blue outline. In his paws was a book with weird symbols on it. The name 'Panda_monium' was displayed over his head. "Oh I'm so sorry. I was just running away from these…" Panda was interrupted during his apology by a trio of wolves stepping out of the darkness. It was plain to see the hunger in their crimson red eyes as they stared down the two bears.

The wolves began to press forward, slowly pushing the bears towards the exit. Grizz held his sword ready to strike at a moment's notice. While Panda readied his book. "This is really bad dude." Panda said.

"Why's that?" Grizz asked.

"I was chased six of these guys and now there's only three. Where did the other's go?" asked Panda. His answer arrived sooner than he had expected as three wolves jumped out of the brush and soon pounced towards them. Panda flinched and prepared himself for the feeling of razor sharp teeth to pierce his skin, but it never came. Instead, a yelp rang through the forest as Grizz cut down one of the wolves that attacked them while blocking the attack of another. Sadly, he couldn't block the third attack. Grizz flinched a little as he felt the claws of the wolf sink in, but soon was able to throw the wolf off. Grizz looked in the upper left corner of his vision and saw his health bar. After taking that attack from the wolf, his lost a small amount of his health. Though it was a small amount of health, Grizz didn't want too many small hit to chip away at health quickly.

"Come on Panda_monium. I can't beat these guys all by myself." Grizz said. Panda was amazed at Grizz's sudden actions and stood there for a few seconds before returning to reality. With his book opened he nodded as a pair of wolves tried to attack. The book began to glow a light red color as Panda casted his spell. From his paw he shot a fireball at each of the wolves. While the fireballs didn't kill the wolves, they took a least half of the wolves' life bar down.

"Just calling me Panda is fine." said Panda as he prepared another fireball spell. Grizz readied his sword and shield.

"Then you can call me Grizz. Nice to meet you Pan-Pan." said Grizz.

The wolves began attacking now with Grizz countering their attacks with his sword and shield. Panda stand away from the main fight and decided to pick the wolves off one by one. While some wolves would break off from their attack on Grizz, Panda's fireball would cause them to flinch. This left an opening for Grizz to attack to now exposed wolves. After a few minutes the wolves' numbers diminished until the there was only one left. Panda was a little above half his health bar and his mana was too low to use another fireball spell. Grizz's health was about a quarter from being empty, but he wasn't nervous. It was only one more wolf and it's health was in the red. A couple more hits it was done for. Grizz began to move in.

With its health very low and its companies defeated, the wolf decided it was all or nothing. It crouched down low as if it was ready to pounce. A dark red aura began to develop around it's paws. Grizz was surprised by what was happening in front of him and was prepared to block, but Panda knew what was about to happen. "Grizz! You need to counter it with your skill attack!" he yelled.

"My what?" asked Grizz. The wolf interrupted the bears talk with a leap in the air. It landed on a tree, then jump to the next one and the next before leaping towards Grizz with it's red glowing claws.

"Grizz, act like you're doing a lunge attack. The game will take over the rest!" Panda yelled. Grizz pulled back his sword paw as he prepared to lunge at the wolf, but held it for a while. His sword soon began to glow a light blue. Grizz didn't have time to react to what was happening as his instincts took over and he lunged at the oncoming wolf. Grizz's attack hit square in the middle of the wolf's face. The wolf was frozen in mid air as it's health bar reached zero and it faded into dust.

There was a couple seconds of silence before Grizz held up his sword in triumph. "Oh yeah!" he exclaimed. A text box appeared with the words 'Congratulations'. What followed was the amount of gold and experience points he received for killing the wolves. "Phew I'm glad thats over. You did good for a newbie." Panda said.

"Wait aren't you new to game too?" Grizz asked.

"Well kinda. I'm only level three, but I know some of the starting game mechanics." Panda said.

"Thanks man. I didn't expect to fight wolves so early in the game."

"Well, normally you don't. When I was looking for plants to level up my alchemy a bit when I was ambushed. I was running from them and I got you caught up in it. Sorry for that, can I make it up to you somehow?"

"Eh, it's alright. It was just an accident."

"But I feel kinda bad about it. I'm sure there is something that I can do." Panda stood there for a few seconds before coming up with a solution. "I know. We'll go into the village and I'll buy you some health potions." Panda said.

"You sure about that? Won't you run out of money?" Grizz asked.

"I've got a couple gold pieces to spare. Besides, I couple more hits and you're a goner." Panda said. Grizz looked at his health bar again to find that it was almost empty.

"Well if you're offering, it would be rude for me to turn it down." Grizz said. He sheathed his sword as Panda closed his book. The two began to walk towards the exit, but were soon stopped by a text box appearing before them. It read: 'Please stand by for mass teleportation'. Before Grizz or Panda could react to anything the two disappeared in a flash of light.


	3. Let the Game Begin

With a short flash of light, Grizz and Panda were now in a town square as many other players teleported to the same square. Grizz and Panda could see the same look of confusion on the other players' faces as well. Though others were angry for the interruption of their game-play. Those players tried to leave the town square, but were met with a forced field meant to keep them in. "Yo, what the heck!" yelled a player, "We can't get out!" More players tried to rush towards the exits, but were met with the same problem. Some tried to attack the invisible wall in an attempt to break it, but their weapons were the only ones to break.

As more and more enraged, confused players started to riot, Panda began to feel more terrified. "Grizz, do you know what's going on?" he asked. Grizz looked at him with a confused look.

" I have no idea what's going guess is as good as mine bro." Grizz said as he shrugged his shoulders. Just then a huge bolt of lightning flashed threw the sky followed by a loud thunder that shook the very ground. All the players were silent now as the sky began to grow dark from the clouds blocking the sun. More lightning began to fill the sky and their thunder caused many players to cover their ears.

Soon the dark ominous clouds gave way as a giant tall figure emerged from them. It wore a blue cloak with a white outline. No player was able to see the figure's face for its cloak shrouded its face in darkness. The lightning soon stopped and everyone now had their eyes on the figure that floated above them.

Then with a loud brilliant voice the figure talked. "Greetings! I'm Dan Pineland, the main developer of Warriors of the Towers." the figure said, "By now I'm sure that many of you have many questions and I assure you those questions will be answered in due time. Though for now I would like to address an 'issue' that many of you have brought up." Dan opened his menu and scrolled to where the logout button was suppose to be. "As some of you have noticed, there is no longer anyway to log of of W.o.t.T. This is not an error or a bug in the system. As of now you all are stuck in this world."

There was a collective gasp as many of the players check to make sure there was a log off option. Their hearts sank to the bottom of their stomachs as Dan's words were true. Now the players began to scream at Dan.

"This has to be some type of cruel joke right?!" asked a female player

"You can't be serious!" yelled another player.

"I've got an interview tomorrow!" yelled yet another player.

"My pizza is coming any minute now! Do you know how delicious Otanio's pizza is?!"

More and more of the gamers that filled the square began to yell even louder. Their voices combined into a swarm of chaotic yelling. Dan tried to calm down the crowd, but as the crowd began to overwhelm him he became annoyed. With a snap of his fingers he summoned another bolt of lighting. The thunder that emanated from it shook the ground just like the first bolt of lightning did and every player covered their ears. As the thunder settled down so did the crowd. Seeing that the crowd was now under control Dan began to speak again.

"Now that I have your attention I would like to finish my speech." said Dan, "As well as not being able to log out, should your life bar reach zero you will die. Both in the game and in real-life. If anyone from the outside attempts to remove the virtual-gear from you head the same outcome will happen." Another collective gasp filled the square. Grizz chuckled a little. There was no way this would be possible.

"Heh, Panda can you believe this guy?" Grizz said as he looked at Panda. His grin turned into a frown as he saw his new friend visibly shaking in fear. He eyes were shrunken to the size of pin pricks and his paws rested on his head. "Panda calm down buddy. There isn't anything to worry about. There is no way we could die in….." Grizz was cut off in the middle of his sentence by Panda.

"I-it's true Grizz." Panda said shakingly.

"What do you mean?" asked Grizz.

"The headgear we use have an internal energy source. Its very strong and can be lethal. That's why safeguards were installed in the devices to prevent any casualties, but if those safeguards were disabled….." Panda paused for a moment.o "...if those safeguards were disabled it would be the same as getting hit with a lightning bolt to the head. You'd be dead before you even had a chance to move." Grizz stood in shock as he stood beside his friend. He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't believe it. No one would design a game this way. Yet, as he stood there amongst the gamers he knew that this was real.

It was then that Dan began to talk again. "The only way to escape this world is to venture out into the world and defeat its six towers. Each tower holds an item that , in time, will be the key to your freedom."

"So let me get this straight. You want us to beat a mmo that had almost half the staff from Light Spirits work on it?" a random player yelled. Some of the gamers in the crowd shuddered in fear of that game's name. Grizz's legs became weak as he fell on his paws. It was hard enough coming within terms of being stuck inside this game for Grizz. Now that he remembered one of the companies that had helped with the making of Warriors of the Towers also made Light Spirits, one of the most toughest games to beat. Grizz recalled his first time playing Light Spirits. Never before has he ever died so many times in a game in his life.

"Essentially, but while the staff from Light Spirits did work on this, I can be certain that the difficulty did not leak over to this game." Dan said. As he began to speak more pieces of him began to fade. "Whoops. Likes like I am out of time. If any of you have any question please consult the help guide in your inventory. Farewell and good luck!"

When Dan finally disappeared and the sky began to clear, everyone was silent. The silence stayed for what felt like hours as the gamers stayed in their places. Some were so angry they couldn't think of anything to say. Some were so scared they just stood there in terror. Everyone wanted something to happen, wanted anything to happen. As long as the silence that plagued them was gone.

Their pleas were answered as Panda screamed to the top of his lungs. From there everything fell into chaos. Gamers started to join Panda, adding their voices to his screaming as well. Some were screams of anger while others were of terror. Amongst the crowd Grizz started to work out a plan. He grabbed Panda by the arm and pulled him out of the square. The invisible wall that once held them in the square was now gone and the two bears continued to run into the town.

After a while Grizz stopped and let go of Panda, who was still in a fit of screaming. "Bro, calm down!" Grizz said.

"Calm down? Calm down?! Dude, we're stuck in a game that can kill us! Also, why do you look so calm about this!? You act like you're not even scared." Panda said, "I….I don't wanna die in here." Grizz looked at his new friend. Tears began streaming down his face, his body was shaking, and his eyes were the size of pinpricks. Grizz put his paws on Panda's shoulders. Panda looks towards Grizz and saw something he didn't expect to see, a smile.

"Are you kidding me? I'm scared out of my mind too." Grizz said. He took his paws off of the panda's shoulders and looked at his paws. "I don't think I'll be able to hold anything with these things." he said. Panda looked at Grizz, whose body was also shaking. Grizz continued talking to Panda. "Being scared isn't a sign to just stop. Sure, this looks bad, but just staying here doing nothing isn't going to get us home any faster. Just forget about Dan, he's a butt. We just need to stick together and we'll be out of here in no time." Grizz said with a smile. Panda wiped his eyes.

"I just met you barely five minutes ago and already you're making impossible promises to me." Panda said.

"It's not impossible. We were able to fight a pack of wolves and survive. What's a couple towers gonna do?" asked Grizz as he extended a paw towards Panda

"Hehehe… are you always this optimistic?" Panda asked as he held Grizz's paw and shook it.

"Most of the time." Grizz answered

"Sol then, what's our plan?"

"Well, we still have some time before the sun sets. So how about some level grinding and some quests, and then sleep in an inn for tonight. Then in the morning we can head to the next village."

"That actually sounds like a good idea. Do you play these types of games a lot?"

"Eh mostly. What about you? Have you ever played mmos?" Grizz asked as he headed towards the edge of the town with Panda.

"I don't normally play these types of games."

"So what kind of games _**do**_ you like?"

"... dating sims." Panda admitted with a blush.

 **Author's note: Happy Holidays! Anyway, I'm eager to know how you guys feel about this story so far. Please leave a review, it can help a lot.**


	4. The Mage and The Dire Wolf Legion

Panda once again found himself scavenging for alchemy ingredients. This time with Grizz just a few yards away. Panda felt safe having Grizz with him. "Yo, Panda are you done yet?" yelled Grizz for the third time. Panda sighed as he checked his inventory. He had almost all of the ingredients necessary for the health potion. Now all that he needed was a couple of red flowers. They grew a little deeper into the forest, but it didn't seem like much of problem.

"I'm almost done Grizz. Just give me a few more minutes." Panda answered as he traveled further into the forest. As he journeyed further the forest began to get darker. The sunlight started to be blocked out by the trees dense leaves. Panda started to panic as the sunlight grew dimmer and dimmer with every step. He began thinking of turning back, until he found a patch of red. Panda gave a sigh of relief as went to pick the flowers.

Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw them. Thousands upon thousands of glowing red eyes. Out of the darkness slowly stepped a large silver wolf. Above its head a name was displayed in red text, Alpha Wolf. It was followed by two health bars. 'Just my luck. I found a wolf boss.' Panda thought. The boss stood and stared at Panda for a long time. It took one step forward and Panda to one step back. The boss continued to advance towards Panda and Panda kept backing up.

Panda began to panic and let his instincts kick in. Panda let loose his fire magic. The ground around him erupted into flames and for a minute the boss was shocked. But soon the boss cracked a smile. It reeled back, taking in air, and let out a thunderous bark. The force of the bark extinguished the flames and knocked Panda off of his feet. His flight was soon interrupted as he hit a tree. His health bar began to dip into the yellow. The wolf began its advancement again. "I knew I should have invested a few more exp points into my defense." Panda said to himself.

Panda opened his spell book and look through his available spells. Seeing a spell he could use, Panda's spell book began to glow a light blue. The boss stopped again. He gazed upon the panda in curiosity. Panda extended his paw and casted his spell. A swarm of bubbles flew out of his paw and covered the field. The boss had a look on his face. As if he was expecting more. He was about to let out another bark, but Panda interrupted him by firing fireballs into the swarm of bubbles. The two elements collided with each other and caused a cloud of steam to flood the field. The steam caused a little disorientation for the wolf boss, but he soon snapped out of it. He let out another bark and the steam cleared. But when it cleared the panda was gone. Another smile spread across the Alpha's muzzle. He could call upon his legion and have them chase after the little mage, but what fun would that be. Instead he would let this hunt on hold for a while. His people were hungry and there was no need for them to fight over one small mage.

As the Alpha returned to the his legion he looked down and found a human child, clothed in Dire Wolf fur. A small wolf cub rode on top of her head. " _You were right pup. This will be an interesting hunt."_ The Alpha said, " _Though now I'm interested, I have a personal assignment for you pup."_ The human child's quest log updated and a smile spread across her face.


	5. Of Soup and Great Boars

Grizz followed Panda on the way back to the red flower patch. After the encounter Panda had, he wasn't going to risk going alone again. "What is it with you and wolves?" asked a curious Grizz.

"I don't know! It's like this game hates me or something!" Panda yelled in frustration. The two continued into the forest until they came across the flower patch. Grizz unsheath his sword and Panda opened his spellbook. The two stood there and waited for the wolf to step out of the darkened forest. But he never came out. This brought a confused look upon Panda's face. He was certain he would see the boss again, but he wasn't here.

"Hmm. You know since this an animal boss. It might have been given a certain area to roam in." said Grizz, "Like those monsters in Leviathan Hunters!" Panda chuckled a bit at Grizz's excitement as he continued his gathering the flowers.

After collecting the flowers, Panda and Grizz headed back to their base camp. They decided that they had enough for today and decided to resign for tonight. During their few weeks of the game they had, at first, rented a room in one of the city's hotels. But soon they decided to build their own place. That way, they could at least stop spending twenty gold a night. Within a couple of days of trial and error, the two were able to build a small house. It was big enough to fit the two bears in it at least, maybe even more. The two bears didn't have enough money to buy furniture yet. So the house was almost empty except for a medium size chest that held some of their stuff , a small cauldron and two sleeping bags.

Grizz unequipped his armor and weapon. The sun was starting to dip down past the horizon and it was Grizz's turn to cook. He opened his inventory and looked through it. "So, what will it be tonight Pan-Pan?" Grizz asked. Panda paused for a second as he began to think.

"How about soup?" he asked.

"What kind?" Grizz asked as he looked through the chest for his cooking utensils.

"Vegetable please." Panda answered. He walked outside to his cauldron and began the preparations for his potions. Grizz, now having gather his utensils, headed to the fire pit inside the house and placed the cooking pot over it. He placed some timber under the pot and set it ablaze using the magic Panda taught him how to do a few days ago.

"I will never get tired of that." Grizz said to himself.

The sun soon finally set over the horizon and the moon took its place in the sky. Panda finished brewing his potions as Grizz's soup was nearly finished. The two sat and Panda taught Grizz more about magic for a while. When the soup was ready, Grizz poured a bowl for both of them. Though before they could enjoy their meal a loud crash sounded outside their small house. Both sighed to themselves. There was never a dull moment in their life was there?

Grizz re-equipped his gear and rushed outside with Panda right behind him. As the two came outside they were greeted to the site of a giant boar fighting two people. One was a little girl, clad in dire wolf fur clothing standing back, shooting arrows at the beast. Zloe, appeared over her head. The other was a polar bear in a light grey cloak wielding an axe. His name appeared as Ice_Bear.

The boar snorted as it began to charge for the polar bear its tusk glowed a fierce red, but was met with an unseen fireball. The explosion made it flinch and it tried to regain its focus. Before it could do anything else it felt a impact of Grizz's sword as he landed a broad slice against its side. The boar shifted its focus on Grizz and tried to charge at him, but was again met with one of Panda's fireballs. Seeing the pattern, the Ice Bear and Zloe joined in. Soon the boar became overpowered. Everytime he would shift his line of sight to attack one thing of the players attacking him it would be countered by a fireball. While being shot repeatedly by the girl. Its health bar depleted rapidly and was on the verge of being empty. Grizz and Ice_Bear drew in for the winning blow. As soon as they did, the boar's entire body glowed a fierce red.

Grizz was shocked for a second, but a second was all the boar needed. It charged straight for Grizz with speed doubled of his original charge. Before Grizz could react in time the polar bear jumped in front of him. With his axe glowing a light blue, he put his entire weight into his swing. His axe collided with the boar. Light blue mixed with red as the two skills clashed with each other. But Ice Bear proved to be too much for the boar to handle. Ice Bear's axe hit its mark, leaving a giant scar on its target. The boar stood still for a moment, then faded into dust. A congratulations sign appeared before the four players.

Ice Bear placed his axe along his shoulders and turned to meet Grizz. He opened his menu screen and sent a something over to Grizz. Grizz looked in his menu and found a gift had been sent him. He opened it and found that it held a new set of armor and a new sword. Grizz looked at Ice Bear with a confused look. He didn't even know this guy and he had already sent him all this stuff. "Consider it a hello gift." said Zloe. Grizz looked over to see Panda and the little girl beside him. She smiled and waved at the grizzly bear and he waved back. A dire wolf cub crawled its way out of Zloe's coat and positioned itself on top of her head. He too waved at Grizz. Grizz continued to have a look across his face. "Um…. I see you're a bit confused. Do you mind if we come inside and explain?" asked Zloe. Grizz answered her question with a nod.

The group went back inside and Grizz handed everyone a bowl of soup. After Zloe had a few mouthfulls of soup she started to explain herself. "I know this is going to sound… weird, but Ice Bear and I have been… watching you guys for a while now." Zloe said.

"You've been stalking us?!" yelled Panda. He almost spat out his soup that he was eating.

"Not stalking! It's more like…. observing." Zloe corrected as she took another mouthful of soup. She held out her bowl and asked for seconds.

"Okay…. then why were you 'observing' us?" Panda asked.

"Well, Ice Bear heard of group of people heading out to find the first tower. He wanted us to go with them so we can level up quicker. But I saw you guys during one of my late night training sessions with little Hoesaeg here." said Zloe as she gestured towards the dire wolf pup sleeping to her left, "And I wanted you to join us. But Ice Bear didn't like the idea."

"Why?" asked Grizz.

"Ice Bear believed that you weren't strong enough." answered Zloe, "Though a wonder how he feels about it now?" Zloe made a smug smile as she looked towards Ice Bear. Ice Bear sighed.

"Ice Bear thinks your skills on the battlefield are….. acceptable." said Ice Bear with a slight blush, "However, Ice Bear also thinks that your skills in the kitchen needs a little more work." Grizz looked down at his soup. He shrugged.

"I guess you can't please them all." he said as he took a large gulp of soup.

"So…. will you join us? We would love to have you with us. Well I would anyway." Zloe said. Grizz was about to answer when Panda interrupted him with a paw on the shoulder. He gave Grizz a look of caution.

"Uh…. could you guys give a while to think about it?" asked Grizz.

"Ice Bear will give you until sundown tomorrow, nothing more." answered Ice Bear. He gulped down his bowl of soup, thanked Grizz for meal, and headed out the door. Zloe picked up Hoesaeg and followed the polar bear out the door.

"We'll meet back here tomorrow okay." she said as she left the small house, "Icey, wait up!"

Panda and Grizz sat inside the house and contemplated. Then as everything became too quiet to handle, Grizz got up and unrolled his sleeping bag. Panda questioned why Grizz could go to sleep at a time like this. Which Grizz said that it was easy. All he had to do was close his eyes and relax. Panda wanted to argue that they should be spending this time to at least talk about this, but Grizz had already gotten comfy in his sleeping bag. When Grizz gets comfy there wasn't anything in the world that could get him up. With a sigh Panda unrolled his sleeping bag too. They would debate about this in the morning.


	6. The Road to The First Tower

The sun shined brightly through the windows of the house. Grizz grumbled as he left his world of sleep behind and entered the world of the awake. Normally, Grizz would meet the sun with a large smile on his face. But this wasn't a normal day. Panda had woken up before Grizz as normal, but he wasn't himself. He stared at Grizz with a serious look on his face. It looked like he had been waiting for Grizz to wake up for quite some time now. Grizz knew he would have to confront Panda about what happened last night, but that didn't mean he wanted to.

"So….. now that you're awake Let's talk." Panda said.

"Come on Panda! They seem nice. It wouldn't hurt to just join them." said Grizz.

"They literally said that they were stalking us! Does that not send up any red flags to you!" yelled Panda.

"Yeah, I know they seem a little suspicious, but listen to me here. How about we can just give them a chance and see how it goes?"

"Grizz, we don't know them how can we be sure they aren't going to stab us in the back!"

"You didn't know me and that didn't stop you from giving me a chance." Grizz said. Panda was about to argue with Grizz's statement, but found that he was stumped. "And if they do turn out like you think they will, I'm sure we can get away from them. Though I think nothing is to worry about." Grizz extended his paw out to Panda. Panda gripped his paw and shook it.

"How….. how are you so good at this?" asked Panda, "And why do I listen to you?"

"If is game had it I would have very high charisma right now." said Grizz, "You should see it when I bargain for a lower price at the flea market."

"Then why didn't you do this last night?"asked Panda, "I've been brewing all night and you just stomped me in like four minutes."

"I was tired." Grizz answered with a smile. Panda sighed at Grizz's weak answer. After the compromise was met, the two spent the rest of their time packing up what they could. Seeing that they didn't have much that they could carry with them without being overburdened, they decided to go out and look for more supplies.

Soon the sun began to set over the horizon and Panda and Grizz stood waiting. They had everything that they could carry with them in their inventory. They only thing they could bring with them was the house, the cauldron, and the chest. Both of them waited for the duo to return. Panda continued to look throughout his spellbook while Grizz equipped his new equipment he got yesterday.

There was a rustle in the bushes that got both of the bears' attention. They looked to see Ice Bear coming out of the woods along with Zloe and Hoesaeg. Ice Bear still held his neutral facial expression while Zloe was beaming with anticipation. Once she saw Grizz and Panda waited for them she rushed to meet them. "Hey guys!" she exclaimed.

"Hey Zloe!" Grizz said. Panda remained silent though.

"So you guys decided, yet?" Zloe asked. The anticipation was flowing off of her in waves. There was so much that even Hoesaeng could feel it and began wagging his tail as a result.

"Yes we did. And we decided…." Grizz stopped mid-sentence as he nudged Panda.

"We decided that we'll join you." Panda said with huff. Zloe yelled in excitement. Though he still wasn't so sure about this team up, but seeing Zloe happy brought a little smile to his face. After the four did a final check of their gear and inventory, they were off.

First, they stopped in the first town of the game, Eton-Rylm. Panda bought a few new alchemy recipes and he even managed to get a new spell. Grizz browsed through a weapon store to see if they had anything that was better than what he had. Sad to say, he didn't find anything. Zloe went to look for some equipment for Hoesaeg. Ice Bear stood by her side like a bodyguard. The four soon left the town as the sunlight was exhausted. The road they were on leaded to a town called Eton-Belle. It was small town with little to provide, but it was the first step to them clearing the game. Grizz, Panda, Ice Bear, Zloe and Hoesaeg walked down the road leading to Eton-Belle. Some wore smiles upon their faces and the rest remained neutral. Where this road led was already figured out. But what roads lied beyond this one was what they had yet to discover.

They continued to walk for hours on end. Sometimes they would encounter a monster or two, but they were quickly dealt with. Grizz and Ice Bear took the front, battling the monsters with their weapons. While Panda and Zloe supported them with their long ranged attacks. Even Hoesaeg got to fight every now and then.

As the group continued on their long journey Grizz began to slow down dramatically. It soon came to the point where he stopped in the middle of the dirt road to take a break. Seeing as to how their friend wasn't going anywhere until his stamina replenished itself, the rest of the group decided to take a break as well. "Grizz you okay?" asked Zloe.

"Yeah…. I'm fine. Just wished… I put more points…... into endurance." Grizz said in between breaths.

Panda opened his spellbook and studied his spells again. It would be a few more minutes before Grizz's stamina was restored and he had to take some time to read over his spells again. Luckily, on their way, they had encountered a rogue mage. He didn't have much to him. At their level, the experience points wouldn't affect much and he only had a few gold pieces on him. But what stood out to Panda was the mage's spellbook. From it, he was able to learn a basic water spell and from there a frost spell. What better way to test them out then a field small test.

As he began to channel his magic, the book glowed a calm blue. He aimed towards the a large rock just a few yards away and released his magic. A torrent of water gushed out of his paw with extreme force. The attack found its mark and soon left a hole in the rock the size of softball. Zloe and Grizz gazed at Panda with amazement. Ice Bear continued to keep his blank expression.

Panda was about to use his next spell, but he saw that Grizz get up and was ready to go. Panda sighed for a bit and closed his book. He guessed that the frost spell would have to wait until the next fight. But what Panda and the rest of the group found out was, that the next fight was sooner than they thought. After they crossed a line called the Calm Circle a message popped upon before them.

It read, "Warning! You are leaving the Calm Belt. Monsters outside the Calm Circle are much stronger than monsters inside the Calm Circle. It is highly advised that you travel in a group and have a level of at least 14.". Just was the group finished reading the message a chill began to descend upon them. A shadowy mist began to fill the area. Panda felt something brush against his leg and he jumped two feet in the air before landing in Ice Bear's arms. Ice Bear was about to ask a question, until he felt some one breath down his neck. It sent a chill down his spine and froze him in place. Zloe huddled close to Grizz as she saw something move through the darkness. Grizz looked around to see if he could find whatever it was that was causing all of this. Though something told him he had been here before.

It was then that he saw the moonlight be blocked out by something huge. He looked towards to what was blocking the moon. To say he wished he could unsee was towered above them would be an understatement. Before them was a tall slim man. He work all black except for his right arm. That was covered in bandages with magical runes on them. Across his back he held a scythe. In the moonlight it shined a beautiful shade of red. On his face he wore a black mask with one hole for an eye, but all that was there was one white pupil. It gazed upon them one by one, as if judging them by their looks alone. Everyone stood in fear as the man continued to stare at them with his one eye as he raised his scythe. The blade developed a black aura around it as the man activated his skill.

When the blade came down its target was Panda and Ice Bear. The two were still frozen where they stood and could not react in time. The attack would have found its mark for sure, if Grizz did not intervene. Using his sword skill, Grizz clashed with the tall man's scythe. A maelstrom of red and black filled the area as the two skills clashed. Grizz had just enough strength to knock the scythe aside. The tall man gazed upon the grizzly bear and a hint of satisfaction could be seen in his eye for a brief moment. "With that get up I could have sworn you were the old man for a second," said Grizz, "But his attacks were a lot faster than that." Grizz gripped his sword with both paws. His sword skill still shined brightly. The tall man chuckled a bit as his name appeared above his head, The Second Night Stalker. It was then followed by four health bars. Grizz smiled for a second. This was going to be fun.


	7. Is Longer Than Most Think

Sparks flew as blades clashed fiercely with one another. Grizz's red, Ice Bear's blue, and The Second's black skills mixed with one another as they fought. Ice Bear went for a strike with his axe, but was repealed the The Second's scythe. Grizz soon followed up from the other side. The Second reacted quickly and brought his scythe back to counter. Unlike The Second, however, Grizz's reaction was a little too late as he was struck with the scythe. The force behind the attack sent him tumbling a couple feet away. The Second raised his scythe into the air and brought it back down. A wave of jet black energy carved its way over to Grizz. Just as it was about to hit, it was met with a fireball from Panda.

Zloe aimed her arrows and Hoesaeg rushed in to attack. The wolf's paws glowed a light blue as he slashed The Second with his claws. Ice Bear and Grizz came back for another attack. The Second ducked the dodge the attack from the two. With his scythe, he turned in place bringing his weapon up with a spin. The same jet black energy from before covered the blade of the scythe as he did. The two bears were caught in the swirl of black and were thrown into the air. Hoesaeg was thrown back from the attack and rolled passed Zloe.

Panda shot a series of fireballs at The Second. His magic attack hit directly and finally brought The Second down to his third health bar. Ice Bear and Grizz landed just a few feet from each other. The former landed on his feet. Both of their skills ended, indicated by their blades returning to normal. The Second started to head toward the two bears, but was stopped by Hoesaeg sinking his teeth into his leg.

The Second prepared to grab the wolf when an arrow struck his chest. Soon that arrow as followed by multiple arrows as Zloe continued to fire a barrage of them. Panda joined in too with his new water spell. The Second raised his right arm and the magical runes glowed. A dark aura formed in the shape of a round shield. While the arrows still found their way through, Panda's magic attack was blocked.

The Second used his free hand to raise his scythe again. He unleashed another wave of dark energy, this time aimed at the wolf pup still attached to his leg. Hoesaeg yelped out in pain as he received the full force of the attack. As the cloud of dirt started to settle down Hoesaeg was lying on the ground with barely any of his health bar left. "Hoesaeg!" Zloe called out. The wolf pup tried to get up, but couldn't find the strength to do so. The Second raised his scythe again to land the finishing blow, but was interupted. Grizz charged forward and pierced The Second with his sword, that was now glowing light blue. Ice Bear jumped over Grizz with his axe high above his head.

The axe glowed a dark red as Ice Bear brought it down. The Second brought up his scythe to block the attack, but was soon overpowered. The force of Ice Bear's attack managed to cause a moment of vulnerability in The Second's defenses. The moment was all Panda needed as he drenched The Second using his water magic. The spell had enough force to knock him off balance and he fell to the ground

Ice Bear landed on his feet and grabbed Hoesaeg and darted back to Zloe and Panda. Grizz soon followed him. Ice Bear handed Zloe her injured companion before getting ready to attack again. He readed his axe and Grizz readed his sword. The two waited as The Second stared at them. He still had some life left in his third life bar. A couple more hits and they could knock him down to his second to last bar.

Zloe opened her inventory and selected a healing potion. As she took care of Hoesaeg the others kept their guard up. The Second picked himself up off of the ground. He gazed at the three bears and they returned that gaze. With a chuckle, The Second threw his scythe into the air. At the same time, the bandages that once covered his right arm unraveled and attached to the scythe. With a tug of the bandages the scythe came back down. Though this time it had more range. The bears managed to dodge the incoming attack and managed to take Zloe and Hoesaeg with them. Before the dust could even clear, The Second rushed in and grabbed Panda with his right hand.

The arm pulsed with dark energy. Panda could feel the immense power in it, but only for a second. With an extreme force, Panda was thrown back into the Calm Belt and rolled to a halt a few yards away from the fight. His health bar drained to halfway before he could even realize it. Due to The Second's dark energy, Panda's magic to a serious blow as well. He only had enough magic for a couple more spells now.

The Second then threw his scythe again, only this time it was aimed right at Grizz. The grizzly bear was able to dodge the incoming attack, but was not prepared for The Second's next attack. Using his dark energy, The Second created a second scythe and was about to cleave right through Grizz. Grizz barely had enough time to react before a flash of red came into view. Ice Bear deflected The Second's attack and brought his axe back for an attack. The attack landed and brought The Second's second life bar to halfway empty.

The Second jumped back and flinched in pain. Just as he was about to attack again, Hoesag came back. Zloe backed him up with her arrows again. Her arrows glowed a bright yellow before they were released. They struck The Second in the chest. At first he didn't think much of it, it was just a couple of arrows. Then he realized he couldn't move. 'Paralysis Arrows? Didn't see that one coming.' He thought. Ice Bear and Grizz took their chance and began to rush him.

A dark aura enveloped the field again. As the two bears' blades came down for the attack, they were blocked by some unseen force. The Second's scythes levitated off the ground and spun rapidly. The two scythes then rushed towards the bears, a jet black aura soon covered them. Before they could reach, they were stopped by a barrage of arrows. Ice Bear and Grizz backed off from The Second as the deflected scythes floated down beside their master.

Panda got back up and looked through his spellbook. He found the spell he needed and channeled his magic. The spellbook began to glow light blue. The scythes began to spin again as The Second prepared for another attack. As he was about to release his scythes, the field became covered in bubbles. Before he could even think about the situation, Panda threw fireballs into the field of bubbles. The two elements mixed with one another and caused the field to be filled with a dense mist. Acting quickly, Panda channeled his magic for his new spell. His spell book glowed the same light blue, but only brighter. Panda rushed into the mist. "Come on guys!" He yelled. Ice Bear and Grizz looked at each other before rushing in with Panda.

With the dense mist making it hard to see, The Second couldn't respond to the advancement of the bears. Panda came in with his frost spell first. Since his target was wet, the frost spell turned the water into ice. Since his spell landed, Panda jumped out of the way. Grizz ran up and pierced The Second through the chest. Ice Bear jumped over Grizz and brought his axe down. His aim was off by a bit and the attack hit the shoulder of The Second. Then those two jumped out of the way.

Hoesaeg came and got a few cheap shots in with his claws before Zloe released another arrow. This time the arrow was glowing red. The red arrow hit its mark perfectly in the forehead. The Second's health hit zero after the arrow hit him. His scythes vanished in a dark mist and soon he too. His mask fell to the ground and turned to a dark mist. But as he began to vanish, the bears could have sworn they saw a smile spread across his face.

Everyone fell to their knees as the final pieces of The Second vanished. A 'Congratulations' box appeared before them, but they didn't care. Right now they relaxed their nerves. If this was how the rest of the game was going to be, then they would have their work cut out for them. But for now they would relish in their victory and healed up.

"Hey…. Pan-Pan what was that spell…. you used a minute ago?." Grizz asked with amazement as he took a swig of some health potion.

"It's my new frost spell." Panda said, "By itself, the only thing it can do is some minimal damage to health and stamina. But when it combines with any moisture in the air I have a chance to freeze almost anything."

"Ice Bear would like to learn magic now." Ice Bear said. The group chuckled for a bit as before they got up and got ready to head out again. They still had a destination on the horizon they had to travel to. As they walked this time, they kept their guard up. Ice Bear walked by Panda so he could learn how to use magic. Grizz walked by Zloe who tailed behind a bit. Hoesaeg asleep in her arms.

The four continued to walk on towards their destination. Along the way they encountered more enemies. Each was stronger than the ones they had previously fought. But with the combined efforts of the four, they were able to carry on. The group continued to walk all night until they came across large patches of flowers. There seemed to be flowers of every color here as well as flowers of all sizes. Panda sighed happily that his pollen allergies hadn't transferred into the game. This would have been a living nightmare.

As the group continued the flower clusters got bigger and bigger. It wasn't long until they soon turned into a giant field of flowers. Grizz was ahead now while Ice Bear stay back with Zloe. His paw stepped over a patch of dark blue flowers with a stone fragment of some kind in the center. It was then that his notifications went off. A message popped up in a text box. It read, "You are now entering Eton-Belle's Calm Belt." Grizz beamed widely as he celebrated. His teammates wondered why he was so happy, but as they crossed the same patch they received the same message as Grizz. Together the three bears, Zloe and Hoesaeg celebrated.

In the distance, they saw what looked like to be a town. They were almost there. The group ran as fast as they could. The town was just in their reach and with some time to spare. Once there, the first thing Grizz did was find an inn and rent everyone a room so they could get some sleep. He rushed up to his room and jumped onto his bed. Zloe and Icebear followed suit and went to their room. Panda on the other hand didn't go to his room straight away. While he loved the idea of getting some shut eye, his sweet-tooth was starting to act up. "Oh of all the times for this to happen. It had to happen now." Panda grunted to himself.

He looked around the inn's lobby and saw a couple of other players. He went up to one clad in iron armor and tapped him on the shoulder. The player turned around to meet the panda. "Um….. hi there. My party and I came here looking for the group trying to get to the first tower. Do you know when they meet?" Panda asked. The player looked at him for a few seconds before answering.

"Oh.. the meeting doesn't start for…." He looked at the clock on in his menus, " another hour or so. We'll be meeting at the clock tower at the center of the town. You can't miss it." The player said. Panda thanked him before heading out the door.

Panda went around town, looking for a bakery of some sort. He cursed his sweet-tooth's calling him to get something to sooth its appetite. He would much rather been in the inn, sleeping in his bed. But he knew he wouldn't sleep peacefully until he had got something at least a tad bit sweet. It was at that moment that he smell the lovely aroma of cake in the air. His body moved faster than he could tell it to. Soon Panda found himself at the doorway to a shop. 'Spring Liberties' was the name of the building.

As Panda stepped into the shop he was hit with the full smell of the bakery's arsenal of cakes and other desserts. His body moved on its own as he stumbled towards the baked goods. In his daze he didn't notice another player walking backwards towards him. She was saying something to the npc behind the register, but hear her. The two soon bumped into each other and fell to the floor. Panda was knocked out of his daze and looked to the player he had just bumped into. He quickly apologized, but was stopped by the player. "It's okay. You didn't make me spill anything so we're good." She said. Panda's heart skipped a beat. He got a good look at the player this time.

The player looked like she was in her early or mid twenties. She wore a white long sleeve shirt with a dark blue skirt. Over her hands were gloves with a white gem in them. She wore leggings, but had armor going down from her knees to her shoes. Her hair was a light blue and her eyes were grey. Attached to her waist was a sheath that held a rapier. But the best part about her, in Panda's opinion, was her voice. It was silk to his ears and almost carried him off to sleep. "Hello…..any bear home?" She asked waving a hand in front of Panda's face. Panda looked at the player again, above her head was the name, "Charl0tt3".

"Um… uh…..h-hi." Panda stumbled. Charlotte giggled a bit as she held out a hand to help him up.

"You're cute.." Charlotte said, "Hey, I've got to go. My team must be looking for me by now. I'll see you at the meeting in a few." With that the girl left the store. Panda stood there in his own little world. After a while he went to the register to place his order. As he was doing so he couldn't help but to have the image of Charlotte burned into his mind. In an hour he would see her again and he couldn't wait.


	8. The Group Splits

Panda was nervous as ever. The crowd of people he was standing with couldn't have more than twenty five people in it. That was including Grizz, Ice Bear, Zloe and himself. Though what he was really nervous about was that girl he met before in the bakery. He looked around, but he couldn't find her anywhere.

Soon the voice of another player called out to the crowd, "Greetings and salutations to all of you!". The crowd turned their attention towards the voice and found a man with silver armor. The name 'Fullmore' appeared over his head. To his left was a player with a dark green cloak that came down to their ankles. A mask shielded its wearer's face from the crowd. 'Jade Dagger' appeared in green text. To the man's left was the girl Panda was looking for. Charlotte waved to the crowd as she finished the last of her pastry.

"It's good to see this many people come out to join us." Fullmore said with a smile, "I'm sure my friends would agree with me." Jade Dagger nodded their head.

"Nice to meet you guys and gals!" Charlotte said. Panda felt his knees turn to jelly as he heard her talk. He'll never get tired of that voice.

"While I'm sure you all have questions, but I assure you that we will answer them in due time. Right now we have some matters that need to be addressed. The reason as to why you all are here, to escape this game." Fullmore started, "I know that this goal for many of you seems too far and out of reach. I'm sure that's also why a majority of the other players stayed behind in the main city of Eton-Rylm. But I believe that we can do it and it all begins with a single step. And that single step is the first tower. The Grand Fairy Tree."

The crowd was confused at to how Fullmore knew the name of the tower. Some were about to make some accusations, but at that moment Jade Dagger spoke. "We've been searching this area ever since the first day." Their voice as weird and distorted. Though the crowd could hear them just fine, no one could tell what their voice actually sounded like. "We found the tower by day sixteen. But we ran into…. Complications." Jade Dagger finished.

"What kind of complications?" answered someone from the crowd.

"The tree is bigger on the inside." Charlotte answered, "We're going to need more preparation before we can pass this tower."

"And that's where you all come in. From the look of how many people are in this crowd, we should be able to split into three parties. Each party shall be lead by one of us. In a couple of weeks we should be able to have enough to clear the tower." Fullmore explained, "Those who are in JD's party will go ahead to the tower and map out the place. Those in Charlotte's party will stay behind and craft items for everyone. Potions, equipment and the like. And those who are with me will go back to Eton- and recruit more players. After a couple of days we'll come back and join Charlotte's party."

The three began to choose the people who would be in their party. The crowd began clearing out and Panda silently hoped that he would be in Charlotte's party. "Ice_Bear." Jade Dagger called. The polar bear got up from where he was sitting and Zloe followed him. "I called for Ice_Bear not you kid." Jade said. Zloe shied back a bit. Ice Bear spoke up.

"Zloe comes with Ice Bear. No exceptions." He said in his monotone voice. Jade looked into Ice Bear's emotionless eyes and Ice Bear returned their gaze. The two stared at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time. But soon enough Jade Dagger relented and sighed.

"The kid can come." Jade Dagger sighed. Ice Bear nodded his head as he and Zloe joined the rest of their party. With them in the party became five, not including Jade. "We'll be heading out now." Jade Dagger said to Fullmore. He nodded and soon Jade Dagger and their party began to leave. Zloe and Hoesaeg waved goodbye to Grizz and Panda.

"I'll take Panda_monium." Charlotte said. Panda's heart skipped a beat as he heard Charlotte call his name. He was so flustered that he didn't notice that his body had moved on its own accord. Charlotte stuck out her hand, "Nice to see you again. I'm looking forward to working with you." she said and smiled. Panda extended his shaking paw and shook Charlotte's hand.

"N-nice to um se… see you t... too." Panda stumbled over his words, but Charlotte didn't seem to notice.

"Guess that means you with me Grizztastic." Fullmore said. Grizz waved to Panda before he left with Fullmore. Panda returned the gesture as Grizz left Eton-Belle. Charlotte started to stretch as Fullmore's party left. Her party started to talk amongst themselves.

Panda looked around to see who was all here. There were two girls standing by a light post. One had a quiver of arrows attached to her back and the other had a spell book in her hands. Panda sighed in relief to know that he wasn't the only one who decided to be a mage. Looking to his right he found the other two players. Both of them were guys wearing full body armor. While one wielded a longsword the other used a shield and mace. Seeing the two groups of players made Panda realize something. He didn't know any of them. He was alone again.

Panda sat down to let it all sink in. Sure he could go and try to talk to them, but he didn't see anything working out. They already looked liked good friends. They didn't need him to be a third wheel. Panda continued to dwell in his situation when he felt a weight drop on his head. Looking up, he saw that Charlotte rested her arms on his head. Before Panda could do anything Charlotte began to talk. "Your fur is soft." Charlotte said softly. Panda tried his best to hide his blush as Charlotte called over the rest of the party. "Alright you guys. Fullmore's party should be back around this time tomorrow. Or, if the recruiting doesn't go as planned, they'll be back later on tonight. Either way I'm planning on getting some batches of potions before the day is done." Everyone nodded their heads.

Everyone got their orders and lists. The two girls were to gather ingredients for health potions. The guys were to gather the stuff required to make stamina potions. That left Panda and Charlotte to get ingredients for mana potions. The three groups worked within a shouting distance from each other. In the event of a monster appearing it wouldn't take long for the other groups to help out.

"Hey Panda, I can call you Panda right?" Charlotte said.

"S-sure…. What do you need?" Panda asked nervously.

"What weapon do you use?" she asked

"I use a sp-spell book." Panda answered

"Good! Do you know any long ranged spells?" Panda nodded his head, "Great! You see that giant flower head over there?" Panda looked to where Charlotte was pointing. His eyes landed on a flower head with ginormous light blue petals. Some average wildlife roamed around it. As he was about to ask about the flower's importance Charlotte placed a finger of his lips, shushing him. She gestured back towards the flower. Once again, Panda turned his attention back towards the flower.

A young deer stepped closer and closer to the flower, its nose twitching. The flower's scent, while undetected by Panda, started to fill the area and lure in the deer. As soon as the deer got within a certain distance, vines shot out from under the flower and grabbed the deer by its front legs. The deer began to panic and tried to get away from the plant, but its efforts were in vain. The flower's vines grip tightened as it began to pull the deer closer. Soon more vines began to rise from under the ground and take hold of the deer. It was then lifted into the gaping maw at the center of flower. The mouth closed and the vines retreated back to their original places. And the flower began waiting for its next victim.

Panda was shaking in his fur. If possible his fur would have turned so white he could pass off as Ice Bear. "Alright Panda." Charlotte started, "That plant is called the Light Blue Maw. It drops an item I want whenever it's killed after it eats. The problem is that I can't get close enough to attack it without getting grabbed by its vines. So I'm going to need you to attack it with your spell. While it his its attention on you I can sneak up on it kill it. You should be okay if you weave in and out of its range."

Panda could feel his knees getting weaker after Charlotte explained her plan. "N-not that I'm unwilling to help or anything, but I have to ask… why couldn't you get someone else to do this?" Panda asked. His fear started to take over his words. He didn't want to attack a monster that just ate a deer whole. Plus, those vines looked like they were very fast. One mistake and Panda was as good as dead.

"Come on I know you can do it. Besides, it's not everyday you get to see a panda bear casting magic." Charlotte said. Panda still looked unsure about what to do. "Don't worry too much Panda. If anything goes wrong I'll save ya." Panda looked at Charlotte, who smiled at him. Just seeing her smile brought a small one to Panda's face. He contemplated more. He came up with two solutions that wouldn't end in his death. He could either help get the item Charlotte wants and succeed or be extremely humiliated. Panda finally decided to roll the die.

"Sure why not." he said. Charlotte jumped with delight. She says that she will make it all up to him later. As Panda approached the Light Blue Maw, with spellbook at the ready, he talked to himself in a low hushed tone. "The things I do for love." he mumbled. Panda stood at the edge of the plant's range. He took a deep breath to calm himself. Then he casted his fireball spell. The fireball hit it's mark and the plant raised its vines in defense. Panda saw a vine quickly head towards his way. He sidestepped to his left and dodged it. He casted a second fireball spell. The spell hit its mark again and the health bar over the plant was halfway through its green.

A confident smile began to spread across Panda's face. He was doing it. He was fighting a monster by himself and managing to do fine. The vines were fast, but there was a pattern to their attacks. As soon as Panda got the hang of it he started to relentlessly barraging the plant with more fireballs. Sometimes he would even land critical hits. In the corner of his eye he could see Charlotte sneaking up on the Maw. This would be over soon. Panda dodged another attack from the vines. As he dodged he stepped onto a hidden vine, which grabbed his ankle and hoisted him up into the air.

Girly screams filled the air as Panda was moved closer to the mouth of the Light Blue Maw. He tried to summon up his magic, but his panicking mind couldn't focus. Just as the plant was about to lower Panda into its stomach, it stopped. It soon faded into dust that was soon blown away in the breeze. Panda fell to the ground and breathed heavily. He looked around to find that Charlotte had landed the final blow and that the rest of the group was coming to see what was all the screaming was about.

As Charlotte started to explain what happened some of the players started to chuckle a bit. Pretty soon the group started to crack some jokes about Panda and his girlish screams. Panda's pride was broken beyond belief. He just embarrassed himself in front of his entire group including Charlotte. He soon laughed along with them. Though it wasn't filled with merriment like the rest of them.

The sun started to go down over the horizon and everyone retired to their rooms for the rest of the day. Panda sat on his bed sulking. He was so stupid. He was doing so well too. His one chance at impressing Charlotte failed and almost costed him his life. Panda sighed heavily as he unequiped his equipment. Now all he wore was a pair of pant and a white t-shirt. He looked over his inventory when he heard a knock at his door. "It's open." Panda called out. Panda was hoping that Grizz had came back early. At least then he could have someone he knew back. But Grizz did not walk through the door. Instead, Charlotte walked through the door wearing a dark blue shirt and black shorts. Panda's heart skipped a beat for the third time that day.


End file.
